


A Witch's Spark [WIP]

by Mad1996Hatter



Category: My AU - Fandom
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-05-29
Updated: 2019-05-29
Packaged: 2020-03-26 19:51:37
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,706
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19012720
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Mad1996Hatter/pseuds/Mad1996Hatter





	A Witch's Spark [WIP]

Despite the oncoming winter chill, autumn had always been Gaia’s favourite season. Not only did it mean leaves changing colour and sweater weather, but it was also the season of Halloween. It was the time of year that she could let her inner child out, and dress in whatever costume she wants without fear of judgment. She could decorate her little coffee shop, Witch’s Brew, with spooks and ghouls, and it would fit right in with the old witchy aesthetic. Most of all, her birthday was always a happy and quiet occasion. A quiet Halloween Eve at home, watching spooking movies with her cat, Kiss. However, this year was a little different.

It started the day before her birthday, October 29. It was early in the morning, the fresh produce had been delivered to the shop, most of the baked goods were done, and Gaia had just water the little yellow daffodils and was now setting the tarot card coasters on the tables. The neon green sign in the window glowed as the rain drizzled outside. The little bell by the door tinged followed by a heavy step. A heavily cloaked silhouetted stood in the door for a moment before walking further into the shop. Gaia stood at a table, coaster in hand, and greeted the new customer. He mumbled out a greeting and sat at the counter, waiting patiently. She went around the counter and smiled politely at the strange man, he was definitely not one of her regulars. He kept the hood of his black cloak up despite being out of the rain, so his face was barely visible. He had a little scar over the right side of his lips. He stared at Gaia for a moment from behind his long blonde hair, and then asked for a cup of Oolong tea.  
No one else came in while the tea brewed and Gaia tried to make polite conversation with the stranger. She learned that his name was Rowan and he had just come back to town after being gone for quite a few years. He said he also knew the previous owner of Witch’s Brew, Ms Ostara. She told him that Ms Ostara was her neighbour and was the first to welcome her to the town when she first arrived, and offered a job at the coffee shop. Over three years, the two became quite close as they had no other family close by. Though it still came as a surprise when Gaia found out that Ms Ostara left the coffee shop to her after she had passed away five months ago.  
They were quiet after that. He slowly sipped on his tea and she kept busy rearranging the tea collection. Minutes passed and still no one entered, which was strange. It was nearly brunch and usually there would be a few people already, wanting to get their breakfast pastries and warm beverages. Even Dale, from the book shop next door, hadn’t come for his daily usual.  
Finally, Rowan paid for the tea and got up from his seat. He nodded to Gaia and, with what she could only assume was a smile, left the shop. Not even a minute passed when Dale came flailing through the door, asking for his usual. Apparently, he had uncharacteristically lost track of the time.  
The day passed as usual with everyone getting excited for Halloween. Around midday, the rain stopped and many of her regular customers began filing in, and, when asked, said the rain kept them in most of the morning.  
That evening, Gaia got home and saw the lights of the late Ms Ostara’s house on. It seemed like her great-nephew, who she had left her house to, finally came to the house, and judging by the pumpkins sitting on the porch, he too was getting into the Halloween spirit. Deciding rather to greet her new neighbour in the morning, she went inside and was greeted by Kiss slinking through her legs with a happy purr. 

The next morning, Gaia woke up and went about as usual. It may have been her birthday, but she still had a business to run. Just as she left her house, she was greeted by Rowan, this time he traded his cloak for a steel-grey knitted sweater so his white hair flowed over his shoulder, held back with a few little braids. He leaned over the fence dividing her house and Ms Ostara’s, staring at her with brilliant jade eyes and a forced smile tugging at his scarred lips. He was Ms Ostara’s great-nephew and Gaia’s new neighbour. He told her that Ms Ostara had left some of her personal items for her and that she was welcomed to come by at any time. Another minute of small talk then a birthday wish from Rowan, Gaia left to get to the Witch’s Brew. It was only around noon, when a regular wished her, that she realized she hadn’t mentioned her birthday to Rowan.  
That evening, Gaia got home, ready to snuggle in with Kiss and watch her favourite Halloween movies. However, she remembered that Rowan wanted to give her some of Ms Ostara’s belongings left for her. She tugged on a pair of combat boots and wrapped a thick knitted maroon scarf (a birthday gift from a regular customer) around her neck, tucking in her long violet-dyed hair, and stepped outside. She quickly walked over to Rowan’s, pulling her cardigan tighter and chuckling at the comically spooky jack-o’-lanterns on the porch.  
When Rowan opened the door, warmth enveloped Gaia and the smell of cinnamon filled her nose. He invited her inside and sat her down in the front lounge. It looked like it always had. Rowan did not change a thing other than probably clean up a bit. The room was filled with plants and crystals, and two bookshelves stood on either side of the fire place where a small fire was crackling. Rowan set a tray down with two cups of hot cocoa topped with whipped cream and a stick of cinnamon. Once Gaia was settled with her cup of cocoa, Rowan brought out a little trinket box and some books. He put the books next to the tray and handed her the trinket box. It looked like a tiny treasure chest with leaves and vines engraved into the dark wood, and an ancient gold latch. Inside the box was three items: a little ornamental water lily made of blue topaz; an aqua-aura crescent moon pendent attached to an ancient gold necklace; and an Egyptian gold statuette of a cat.  
Gaia put down her cocoa and took out the ornamental water lily. The semi-transparent blue stone gleamed in the firelight and started to glow a gentle blue. A wave of icy coolness swept over her despite the heat of the fire. It spread all the way from her bone-marrow to the core of her heart. Instead of feeling dread like one might expect, Gaia felt calm and refreshed; like something in her lit up. The feeling faded as well as the glow of the gemstone and warmth returned to her. She looked up and saw Rowan watching her intently from where he sat opposite her. He had definitely seen the water lily glow. Gaia put the ornament back in the trinket box and set it on the table between them, next to the pile of books. As if he could sense it, Rowan started answering all her unasked questions. Ms Ostara was a witch. A literal witch with a mischievous sense of humour too. That is why she seemed obsessed with the witch aesthetic; it helped her ‘hide in plain sight’. Her friendship with Gaia bonded them so close that when Ms Ostara passed away, a spark of her magic went to Gaia. She also knew it would happen, that is why she left these things for Gaia. The topaz water lily, Ms Ostara had enchanted it, would help ignite the spark with the help of the gemstone and flower as both are associated with spiritual enlightenment. They’re both also water elements which coincides with her zodiac element. Rowan then took out the moon pendent. It was a birthday gift from Ms Ostara, he told her. The aqua-aura quartz it was made of, symbolized protection. Ms Ostara knew that with the spark, danger would follow so she enchanted this pendent as well. Gaia stared at the iridescent aqua blue crystal and smiled. Ms Ostara had always been like a mother hen over her.  
Gaia reached into the trinket box and pulled out the cat figurine and asked if this was just because all witches had cats. Rowans huffed, amused, and shook his head. The figurine was made of Egyptian gold and to ancient Egyptians, cats represent the god, Ra, and his protection over earth. It was also simply because Ms Ostara knew she loved mythology.  
Gaia sat there for a minute, staring at the box. There was no possible that all this was true. Rowan, sensing her doubt, then revealed that he himself was an alchemist. While his great aunt had taught him all about witchcraft, he was more drawn to alchemy. That was also why Ms Ostara left her grimoire to Gaia.  
A sudden thought came into her mind. Would Halloween have a dangerous effect on her because of all this? Voicing her concern, Rowan smiled an almost genuinely amused smile. The only part of Halloween that would affect her magic that she’d have to be worried about is the full moon. The moon has a gravitational pull of water and because she is a water element, it will amplify her magic on full moons. Like that, Gaia gained a friend and a teacher in Rowan.

Halloween was the same as it had always been for Gaia, despite the new revelation. She went to work, baked the spooky goods, watered the plants and served her ghoulish customers all while dressed in a witch’s costume. For ironic reasons, obviously. In the evening, she had invited Rowan over to watch her birthday movies that she got distracted from the night before. Every few minutes (or less), Gaia had to get up to answer some trick o’ treaters while Rowan buried his face in Kiss’ white fur. The Norwegian Forest cat seemed to take a liking to him immediately. The three of them eventually fell asleep to Jack and Sally’s singing on the TV.  
Gaia woke up with a start the next morning and saw that she had overslept. Not even bothering to wake Rowan up (he looked too peaceful cuddling with Kiss), got dress and wrote a quick note, but froze when she opened the front door. She let out a startle yelp that immediately woke Rowan. When he came to the door to see what had caused Gaia’s reaction, he too froze. They both stared at all the little corpses of birds, squirrels and mice scattered on Gaia’s porch. On the sidewalk, beyond the porch, sat several of the neighbourhood cats. Each of them were as still as statues as they stared straight at Gaia, eyes gleaming various shade of blue, green and amber. A frigid chill shot up her spine and made her stomach sink, but eased up when she felt Rowan’s hand on her shoulder. He told that these were offerings. All the cats left her offerings in hope that she would choose one of them as her familiar. Creatures around the area had most likely felt her magic on Halloween when the full moon was at its peak. For now, though, it wasn’t an emergency. She could take as much time as needed to choose her familiar. Rowan promised to take care of the corpses for her so that she could go to the coffee shop. The rest day passed with only one other incident. Three stray cats had left ‘offerings’ of mice, fortunately, at the back entrance of Witch’s Brew. That night, Gaia sat in bed, reading through one of the books Ms Ostara had given her while Kiss slept on her lap. She reached for the moon pendent from Ms Ostara and smiled, feeling the cold stone touch her finger tips. A wave of calmness settled over her and she felt herself relax into the pillows. Her worries about the familiars disappeared and she could think a bit more clearly. According to the notes in Ms Ostara’s grimiore, the bond between a witch and their familiar are said to be difficult to break, near impossible. Familiars provide protection as well and will die for their master. However, when a witch dies, their familiar died with them. Though she didn’t think it was any immediate concern at the moment. She hadn’t felt any connection with any of the cats that brought offerings.  
The following morning was a similar experience. Gaia almost threw up at the sight of the corpse of a mauled fawn. Its neck stuck out at an odd angel and its pale brown fur was stained scarlet. A blood trail lead up to the dense forest behind Gaia’s house, from where the creature had been dragged all the way to her front door. Immediately, she called for Rowan, who happened to be quite shocked himself. It’s one thing to be offered little birds or mice, but a fawn? The familiar that offered this was clearly bigger than a cat. One of Gaia’s other neighbours, Angela, came jogging up to them. She had seen what brought the fawn corpse when she had gone out for her morning run. She took out her cell phone and pulled up a video showing a huge gray wolf tugging on the fawn, dragging it up the three stairs leading onto Gaia’s porch. A wolf had offered to be her familiar.  
After burying the dead fawn (deep in the woods) with the help of a friendly neighbour, Rowan went with Gaia to the coffee shop as she was still a bit shaken. It didn’t help that news of the fawn spread through most of the town by noon.  
Gaia spent the night at Rowan’s with Kiss in hope that when she opened the front door the next morning, she wouldn’t be struck with another heart attack. Unfortunately, that did not go as planned.  
The third morning was slightly different compared to the first two, and it wasn’t only because she stayed over at Rowan’s. Gaia opened the door earlier than usual, confident that she wouldn’t be traumatized this morning, only to let a shriek. Thankfully, it was her day off. She held onto the door with a white-knuckled grip, fearing she might pass out at any second.  
That day’s offering was less fresh. The decaying flesh was pulled taunt across the bones. The black satin fabric was torn to shreds and the gaudy amethyst necklace attached to one of the limb glittered in the morning light. Gaia was staring into the hollow eye sockets when Kiss came sauntering to the door, but she took one look at the corpse and turned tail. She was in no mood for that this early in the morning.  
The human remains weren’t the only strange thing, though it was the most shocking by far. At the bottom of the stairs sat a huge black dog. His thick shaggy fur was matted with mud and his ocean blue eyes beamed with pride. When her hazel-blue eyes met his, a current surged through her, shocking her core. Gaia slowly stepped over the half forgotten corpse and stood at the top of the stairs, reaching her hand out to the dog. He stood up and put one paw on the first step, leaned forward to gently nuzzle at Gaia’s outstretched hand. She had chosen him.  
Rowan suddenly appeared by the door and took a jump back at the sight and stench of the remains, revolted. He looked up and saw Gaia with the dog, immediately recognizing a choosing. While he was happy that Gaia had chosen a familiar, he refused to bury this offering in the woods. Gaia awkwardly thanked the dog, Storm – according to the name engraved in the dark leather of his collar – with a bow and asked him to return the remains to its rightful place. Understanding the request, Storm stepped up to the corpse, bit at what Gaia assumed was the spine, and began dragging it off back to the cemetery. Not caffeinated enough to deal with this, Gaia and Rowan went back inside where he brewed the strongest coffee he had available. Later, Storm returned, tracking mud as he trotted inside when Rowan opened the door. He walked into the kitchen where Gaia had been sitting and laid his head on her lap. Rowan glowered at Storm, still mildly annoyed about the corpse incident, but also because he just had a nagging feeling in his gut about Storm. Mainly because he was sure he had seen those ocean eyes before.  
Storm, sensing Rowan’s annoyance, looked at him and immediately recognition and guilt filled his eyes. He took a step back and began to spasm. Gaia got up, worried about her familiar, but noticed how his fur started receding as his back began to hunch over. His snout grew smaller, claws retracted and joints began to pop. His silhouette grew taller and taller as he stood on his hind legs, until he towered over her and a man’s face stared back at her with electric-blue eyes. The man – well, Storm – was clad in a jet black fur coat with dark denim pants and his dark leather collar around his neck, the pale jade stone glittering. Raven locks fell over his shoulders in a wild muddy mess. His tanned skin had patches of dried mud, but the scars could still be seen across his open torso.  
Gaia stood with her mouth gaped open in shock while Storm looked a little sheepish. Neither one had time to say anything when a mug of coffee flew pass Storm’s head and hit the wall behind him with a loud crash. They turned around to see Rowan glaring green fireballs at Storm. He started yelling and cursing at Storm while he reached for another dish to throw at him which he managed to dodge again. It took Gaia a few minutes to calm Rowan down while Storm stood aside with his head bowed in shame, grasping the stone of his collar. Once calmed, she immediately questioned Rowan about his reaction which made him glare at Storm again.  
He gritted out that he knew Storm from years ago. He had fallen for him and all Storm did was steal his heart. Gaia’s eyes soften, obviously expecting a sweet tale of romance, but it was not. Rowan noticed her expression and he grumbled out that Storm had literally stolen his heart and sold it on the black market. Storm let out a guilty whine and Gaia was, again, stunned into silence. Knowing that Gaia had questions brewing in her mind, Rowan let out a sigh and told her that he had managed to keep living this long because of a potion he had been drinking made mainly of vampire blood, which was hard to come by.  
At this time, Storm decided to come to his own defense. With a hoarse voice, he told them that he only did what he did to get back his collar that had been stolen from him. It had been given to him by his master from when he was a normal dog, who handmade it with the jade stone. When his master died, he put a part of his life essence into the stone in hope that it will comfort Storm as he continued to roam the earth. That was also when Storm became a church grim. While this doesn’t excuse his actions - and nothing ever will - he fallen for Rowan as well when they met.  
Gaia suddenly felt like she was invading a private conversation between the two and stepped back in doorway, joining Kiss who had come to see what all the commotion was. They watched as Storm apologized profusely to Rowan, who looked mildly conflicted. It seemed though that he decided to go with his anger and marched pass Storm and Gaia, and went upstairs. Kiss walked up to Storm and rubbed herself against his leg as a way of comforting him. Storm crouched down to pet her, not minding that his jeans now had white fur sticking to it. While he was distracted with Kiss, Gaia went upstairs to check on Rowan. She knocked on his door and entered when she heard a muffled “come in”. He sat cross legged on the single bed, hugging a pillow, a distant look on his face with a little pout. He quietly apologized to Gaia for his outburst which earned a comforting hug from her. Despite the hurt, anger and betrayal, it was clear to her that Rowan still cared for Storm, and seeing him again after many years resurfaced all those feelings.  
Their minute of silence was ruined by Gaia’s stomach rumbling, making them laugh. During all that had happened that morning, they completely forgot about food. The two trudged down stairs and found Storm in the kitchen playing with Kiss, the broken dishes had been cleaned up. He looked up, eyes immediately falling on Rowan, the cat forgotten. Unfortunately, Rowan ignored him and searched the cupboards and fridge for food, which he didn’t have because he had yet to go grocery shopping.  
That’s how Gaia found herself in her kitchen making breakfast for lunch for her, an alchemist and a grim. It was mostly silent as she tried to fill the awkwardness. Rowan avoided as much eye contact with Storm as possible and Storm would occasionally glance at Rowan with the biggest puppy eyes Gaia had ever seen, as he cuddled Kiss in his arms. At least now, he didn’t have to worry about any cat fur because Rowan had hesitantly given him some clean clothes after he cleaned himself up.  
Once Gaia set the plates of food down, Storm wolfed his down in a blur. Gaia served him seconds when he was done with his first serving. He then noticed Rowan staring and when he looked at him, Rowan instantly looked down at his own plate, but the tinge of pink on his cheek was apparent. Gaia silently watched the exchange and smiled to herself as she sipped on her tea. Kiss, too, was watching them with a little twinkle in her eyes.

As the days grew colder with the promise of snow, the three got use to their new daily routine. Rowan and Storm began working at the Witch’s Brew with Gaia, charming the customers while she was baking at the back. Thankfully, the stifling tension between Rowan and Storm did not affect their work. However, in the evenings, after Gaia’s witchery lesson with Rowan, Storm would whine pitifully as he lay by the blazing fireplace, cuddling an exasperated Kiss. At one point, Gaia even sent them both out to run errands for her, in hopes that maybe they’ll become less awkward and tense around each other. Unfortunately, when they returned that evening, Rowan stiffly joined Gaia in the kitchen while Storm stalked upstairs, a heavy aura shadowing him. A little miffed at the failed setup, Gaia had half a mind to make a love potion.  
When the first snow fell, Storm was the first to see it through the window of the coffee shop. For a moment he was distracted by the snow then he saw it. A shadowed figure stood outside the window, under the glowing neon green sign. Their hood covered their face, but Storm knew they were staring inside. A heavy feeling tugged at his gut, making him growl softly. He felt a dark aura coming from the shadow. Whoever they were, they were a danger. Storm slowly backed up to the counter where he tugged on Rowan’s sleeve to get his attention. With an irritated huff, he yanked his arm away, ready to tell Storm off. Before he could say anything though, Storm gritted out for him to look at the shadow outside the window. Rowan fell silent when he saw the shadow, watching it intently. The hairs on the back of his neck stood to attention as he too felt a dark aura coming from the shadowy figure. They both watched it for a while before it slowly turned and walked away. Storm wanted to alert Gaia immediately, but Rowan told him not to. That she had enough on her plate for now and the shadow was not an immediate threat to them at the moment. Storm whined then, with another glare from Rowan, went back to work with a small frown.  
That evening at dinner, Storm was unusually quiet for Gaia’s liking, but claimed that he was just tired; however, she didn’t see Rowan shooting daggers at him.  
Storm slept restlessly that night. By midnight, he decided to get a glass of milk, hopeful that it will help him sleep. After warming up a glass of milk with honey in for himself and a little saucer for Kiss who had followed him downstairs, he leaned again the kitchen sink, staring at the night sky. He saw that Sirius was visible that and couldn’t help chuckling to himself as he remembered his previous master. As he stared at the star, a dreadful feeling tugged at his gut, making him growl. Beyond the backyard, at the edge of the forest, stood the same shadowy figure from the Witch’s Brew. Storm stood glaring at the shadow when Kiss jumped up onto the counter. She too stared out of the window, curious to see what Storm was growling at, and let out a vicious hiss then immediately jumped to the ground and ran upstairs.  
As if it heard their threats, the shadow walked backwards into the woods until it disappeared. Glass of milk forgotten, Storm stormed out of the house and went over to Rowan’s. He didn’t stop banging on the door until a tired and annoyed Rowan opened the door. He took one look at Storm, and then made to close the door, but Storm barged his way in. He immediately began telling Rowan about the shadowy figure, saying that it was definitely the same one from the Witch’s Brew. Rowan listened to him quietly, though he still had an annoyed look on his face and Storm wasn’t sure if it was because he woke Rowan up or because of his presence in general. The exasperated look on Rowan’s face told him it was definitely his general presence. Before Rowan could kick him out, Storm told him that even Kiss had hissed when she saw the shadow. Rowan paused mid sigh and frowned. He was very much aware of Kiss’ calm nature and knew that whenever something upset her, it was serious. Rubbing at his tired eyes, Rowan had Storm sit down and retell him everything about this shadow in as much detail as possible.

Gaia was startled awake by Kiss jumping on her, trying to paw her way under Gaia’s arm. Just as she was about to settle back to sleep, a chill prickled at the back of her neck. She sat up, looking around the room. It was dark, the sky outside was a deep indigo so she assumed it was a little past midnight. There was an oddly disturbing silence around the house, but she shook it off as her own paranoia. Since she was already awake, Gaia got out of bed, intending to go downstairs for some chamomile tea. However, Kiss let out a distressed yowl and clawed at Gaia in attempt to make her stay in bed. Too tired to actually decipher the cat’s discomfort, Gaia picked Kiss up and, carrying her like a little infant, went downstairs.  
It was only half way into the hallway to the kitchen that Gaia noticed the eerie red glow seeping out from the bottom of the study’s door. She went to reach for the door handle, wanting to inspect the source of the light, thinking it might be one of Ms Ostara’s books; only to have Kiss hiss violently and claw at her arm, landing some scratches. In her surprise, she accidently dropped Kiss, who naturally landed on her feet, and stared dumbfounded at the droplets of blood oozing from the scratches. This was the very first time Kiss had ever caused her any form of injury. However, Kiss was too busy spitting and hissing at the study’s door to notice Gaia shock.  
Gaia shook her head and tried to open the door again, this time with Kiss out of reach of her limbs. The door slowly creaked open, bathing the two in the ominous red glow. Books and torn pages were thrown all across the room. Crystals and stones were toppled to the floor while the little water lily ornament was crushed into several tiny pieces. Atop of her mantelpiece was a huge lumpy mass of jet black, tearing at a book with the sharp fangs of one of its many mouths. Numerous ruby eyes were swiveling in their sockets before finally zeroing in on Gaia. As Gaia let out a shriek that could rival a banshee’s, Kiss darted towards the fleshy mass, hissing and spitting violently, claws swiping at her target. Half of the mass’ eyes turn its attention to the angry cat and its mouths bared its fangs. However, before Kiss could sink her claws into the big lump, it bounced off the mantelpiece with a gross squish and snapped its teeth at Gaia. With a little yelp, she grabbed the closet weapon she could reach – a silver dagger –, ready to take out an eyeball. The flying mass snapped its teeth as it flew at her and Gaia swung the dagger at it aimlessly, but managed to nick it. It fell to the floor with a squelch, letting out a growl, and then slithered its way to the fireplace, nipping and hissing at Kiss, who pounced at it, but missed. Once it plopped into the fireplace, it let out a screeching roar from its many mouths as its eyes began to bulge out. There was a loud sudden explosion as the mass combusted. After her eyes adjusted from the flash of explosion, Gaia stared around the room that had gone dark, except for the white moonlight shining in through the window. The room was left in the foul odor of burnt flesh and sulphur. The fireplace was blackened and Kiss’ front was completely covered in soot, her ocean eyes still locked on the fireplace. Kiss was still softly growling at the fireplace, hackles raised as she was still on edge.  
The front door suddenly slammed open and two pairs of footsteps trampled down the hallway. Storm and Rowan skidded to a stop and almost fell through the doorway. Storm’s eyes glowed as he bared his teeth and looked around the room with a frown. Rowan was immediately at Gaia side, asking what had happened because they heard her screaming from all the way next door.  
Instead of answering him immediately, Gaia looked down at the dagger she forgot she was still holding. She lifted it up and saw that at the tip of the blade was a slimy puce substance. Gaia’s nose crinkled in disgust before she collected in one of the vials that weren’t shattered on the floor. While writing the label for the vial, she told Rowan and Storm about the strange fleshy creature with many eyes. Rowan looked up at her from picking up the torn thrown pages, brows furrowed as he bit his lip in concentration. Storm and Kiss were sniffing at the fireplace when Gaia went over to pick up the shattered water lily. She sighed miserably as she inspected the damage, hoping that maybe she would be able to glue most of the broken pieces together. However, the pieces cradled in her hands, and those left of the floor, began to glow like they did when she first held them. Each broken piece of gem had started morphing, making a soft tinkling sound. A minute later, Gaia had several tiny cerulean crystals water lilies. Rowan came to stand next to her and told her that it was because of the magic from Ms Ostara fused with the topaz. Her magic was powerful enough to resist damage to the enchanted object and could instead repair it. Gaia scooped up the mini ornaments and set each one on the mantelpiece in a row, counting thirteen lilies twinkling in the moonlight.  
The three of them, and Kiss, left the study after tidying up, and went to the kitchen. It was just when Rowan handed her a cup of chamomile tea that she realized that Storm had come into the house with Rowan. She asked Storm why he had been at Rowan’s in the middle of the night. She saw him freeze for a second while he was wiping at the soot on Kiss’ face with a wet cloth, and didn’t miss how Rowan tensed up as well. Trying not to get her hopes up, she couldn’t help smirking softly to herself even though she knew it was probably something else. He softly coughed out that it was nothing just as Rowan grumbled that Storm was just being stupid. Gaia hummed and took a sip of her tea as she eyed the two of them. 

A blanket of snow covered everything outside and Storm seemed to be enjoying himself, much to the soot-free Kiss’ displeasure since he would spend hours rolling in the snow in his grim form, only to track in the cold and cuddle up against Kiss. Rowan had used his alchemy skills to try and figure out the puce slime, but so far had nothing. All the while, Gaia brushed it off as a random unfortunate incident and went on a usual. She had a feeling that Rowan and Storm were not telling her something, but decided not to push them, believing they would tell her when they felt is or if necessary.  
The days grew colder as Yule approached and Storm hadn’t seen the shadow again. However, he could occasionally feel the dark aura that was now laced with the smell of sulfur. He had mentioned it to Rowan while they were at the coffee shop, away from Gaia, who was distracted by customers. Rowan had sighed, saying he had started feeling it as well. That was when Storm had also noticed that Rowan’s bright green eyes were now duller and there were dark circles forming under his eyes. When asked, he admitted that he hasn’t been getting sleep at home because he was on edge the whole time. Storm opened his mouth to insist that they mention this shadow to Gaia, but stopped when Rowan scowled at him.  
The Witch’s Brew ended up closing earlier that day due to a snowstorm coming in. The three of them were sitting at a table with a little teapot brewing some tea, when one of the hanging plants fell from the ceiling with a smash. Gaia sighed at the minor inconvenience and went to clean it up. When she reached for the plant, vines suddenly grew from it and shot out at her. It wrapped around her arms, tightening as it slithered its way up, thorns dragging into her skin. Several more of the plant’s tentacles reached for her, some of it had sharp little hooks at the ends that dug into her as she tried to tug herself free. Storm and Rowan came to her aid only to have the vines wrap around them as well. The plant grew stronger and lifted them into the air. The more they struggled against it, the tighter the vines got with the thorns digging deeper into their flesh.  
Storm had somehow managed to turn into his grim form and began ripping the vines off him. He was almost free when a tentacle curled itself around him muzzle then around his body again. Gaia looked around frantically for a way out when she saw the teapot on the table, still filled with boiling tea. In a desperate act to free herself and her friends from being crushed and suffocated, she focused on the little spark inside her, and using the very little magic she had learned in the past few weeks, managed to gain manipulation of the water. The ceramic lid shot to the ceiling and shattered as the hot water spewed out of the teapot, splattering everywhere. The fountain it had created was able to reach the exposed root of the plant. As soon as the boiling water touched it with a loud fizzing sound, the plant’s vines began to wriggle as if in agony. The vines’ grip loosened and the three were able to untangle themselves from the plant.  
Unfortunately, the hot water only managed to cause injury to the plant as its vines tried to jerkily and slowly reach for them again. Rowan reached for his coat on the counter and took out a little vial of pale yellow liquid and immediately emptied it on to the plant’s roots. Within seconds the plant and its vines stopped moving and began to blacken as it shriveled up and died. Storm, who had turned back into his human form, looked at Rowan with curiosity and asked what was in the vial. When Rowan casually said that it was simply arsenic with an enchantment, Gaia and Storm were absolutely boggled. Why would he be carrying a vial of arsenic around with him? Rowan simply shrugged and said “alchemist” as he went in to the back, coming back a broom. The three of them cleaned up the dead plant, packing the roots and vines into zip lock bags as they intended to burn it at home, not wanting to risk it growing again if buried or simply thrown away. 

Once at home, Gaia first made a safety line of mountain ash in front of the scorched fireplace before lighting a fire. As she threw in parts of the dead plant bit by bit, Rowan came bursting in making Storm and Gaia jump. He immediately told them that someone had broken into his house and completely turned over the place, but taken nothing. Due to this, he came up with the theory that the past two incidents with the black lump and, now, with the grabby plant were definitely caused by someone who targeted them and was clearly looking for something they had.  
With the speed at which Rowan was speaking and the manic look in his eyes, he seemed a little unhinged that Gaia was afraid to tell him to calm down. Storm was no help as he jumped up and cried out something about a shadw. Gaia sat on the floor, watching the two of them as she tossed pieces of the shriveled vines into the blazing fire. She was stuck between asking about this shadow and telling them how cute they looked together. They ended up deciding for her as they turned to her and began telling her about this shadowy figure they saw at the Witch’s Brew and that Storm saw from the kitchen window. Gaia brushed it all off as coincidences and paranoia. Saying that they should rather being focusing on Rowan’s currently trashed home and make sure that nothing was really stolen. However, she said they could also place protection spells on both houses and the coffee shop, if it will help ease their minds. So after shoving the rest of the vines into the fire, they went over to Rowan’s for another sleepless night of tidying.  
Once they had stepped through Rowan’s door and had shaken off the little snow from the storm, the three of them looked around them. There were faint scratch marks on the dark hard wood floors and a splintered banister on the staircase. The house plants had toppled over, spilling the soil and scattering the leaves. Splinters of the glass chandelier lay glittering down the stairs.


End file.
